Best Marketed Hotel

* There must be a minimum of three entrants in a category for all entrants to progress to the judging phase.

* Winner is eligible to enter the AHA National Awards 

A written submission is required to assist in the assessment of this category and is required by Tuesday 10th December 2024.

This category is open to all venues to recognise excellence in marketing activity undertaken to foster a greater awareness of the property in the marketplace. Initiatives may include, but are not limited to, market research and planning; advertising and promotions; publications; and trade/media/consumer events.

Documents required for submission:

• A written submission describing the judging criteria below.
• Supporting document and images where relevant

Judges will be assessing the following points in your written submission:

Marketing strategy

• What research and planning did the property undertake to support the achievement of your marketing strategy?
• Describe key campaigns that underpinned your marketing activity. Detail what you were trying to achieve and how you did it.
• What were your main objectives of the strategy and how did the strategy align with the venue’s brand profile?

In-house marketing

• Describe what you did to ensure consistency in the quality of in-house marketing and branding.
• Provide evidence of how the venue utilises a multimedia approach to your venue’s online brand exposure using PC, mobile phone, venue screens, tablet or other in-house services.

Website and social media

• Discuss your venue’s website with regard to appeal and efficiency. Include measurement analytics.
• Provide evidence of how social media has been used as a strategy to achieve the objectives of your marketing plan.

Partnership and Integration

• Describe your partnerships with other businesses and how these fit into your strategy and assist your success – include related media, business associations, sponsorships, networks, neighbours, tour and transport operators, attractions, events etc.
• Discuss how your marketing team integrates with the other areas and departments within your venue in regards to collaboration, communication and team success.

Implementation and Measurement

• Detail the process of how your campaign/s were implemented and measured. What were the results? You must specify how you achieved your objectives. This should include relevant return on investment (ROI) and the method of calculation (i.e. direct sales or comparative sales) and/or the public relations value of the campaign (calculated as the equivalent advertising at casual rates).
• Explain your ROI for your venue i.e. evidence of increased traffic generation, media exposure, improved brand awareness and perceptions and generating an increase in profits on the bottom line.

Innovation

• Describe the most innovative part of your marketing strategy. Have you done anything like this before? What were you trying to achieve and how did you execute it?

Supporting documents:

• Marketing Strategy        
• Evidence of your campaigns and the campaign’s results 
• Evidence of your inhouse marketing and the results        
• Evidence of your website key measures and analytics     
• Evidence of the partnerships and the partnerships results             

Important:  A concise written submission addressing all bullet points should be no more than 1,000 words in length.